Page 9 of Bound by Family
“You’ve got to be shittin’ me,” Green grunts out, tossing his cards down on the table. Gin Rummy is our game of choice and dollar bills are what’s up for grabs. Green still hasn’t mastered the game yet and tends to lose at every turn. It’s the only way he’s going to learn, though. If that happens to fatten our wallets, so be it.
“Your hand sucks.” I look down to the cards and let out a chuckle. He has a three, five, seven, eight, ten, queen, and ace; suits all over the place. Possibly the worst hand ever. That shit’s seriously bad, and Jacks knocked, so that means game’s over.
Jacks joined the club with Green, whose real name is Ty, but got the road name Green because, when he first prospected, he was beyond green when it came to club life. They were my best friends in high school and didn’t have to join, but chose to. I’m happy about that. They have had my back through some tricky shit, and I trust them with my life. Even before we were technically brothers, they were there, which shows a man’s character.
Playing Gin, though, Green sucks.
“Take it like a man,” Jacks calls out, pulling all the money his way.
I inhale my smoke, then blow it out. “Does he know how to do that?”
Green pushes my arm. “Shut the fuck up. I need to find some pussy.”
“There’s enough to go around,” I tell him.
“Newbie redhead over in the corner, Coop,” Green says, turning back around to me. “Watchin’ you like a hawk.”
“When she get here?” Jacks asks, and I have the same question. She wasn’t here yesterday.
“Today. Derek brought her in and got it checked with Pops. Don’t know her story. Don’t care,” Green says, and that’s enough of an answer for me.
I tilt my body so I can get a good view. She’s not bad. Her hair is cut super short, while I prefer long so I have something to grab. She has very nice long legs, and her shirt pretty much shows me her plump breasts.What the hell; I’m bored, anyway.
“Let me go see if the carpet matches the drapes,” I say, rising from my seat.
“That’s overused, brother,” Jacks tells me, and I shrug, not giving a shit.
Crooking my finger at the woman, she comes over immediately.
An hour later, I find out that they do match.
* * *
“About fuckin’time. Where the hell were you?” Ryker asks as I enter the large out-building we built three years ago. Pops said we needed more room and a place that was locked up tight, so he built this. There are no windows and only two doors. It’s reinforced steel walls with cameras everywhere on the outside and alarms for any unwelcome guests. We don’t need anyone seeing what goes on behind them. Not that we’ve had any problems.
“Watchin’ Austyn and Nox.” I rub my hand over my exhausted face.
I love my siblings, but fuck, they’re a damn handful. They fight all the damn time about stupid shit they don’t even care about in ten minutes. Being so much older, it’s different having them so young, but it’s my family.
“Get over here and help.” Ryker loads up a padded, wooden crate, screwing the top of it shut with an electric screw gun, the sound buzzing off the walls.
“This shit isn’t gonna pack itself,” Green says as I get to work.
Guns. They are always on the market. The bigger, the better, and the more money earned. I learned to put together and take apart just about every type of gun there is doing this job. Ravage makes most of our money from the guns. With laws changing and more people wanting to protect what’s theirs, more guns are in demand.
“You ready for the rally? Rhys says we’re pullin’ out on Thursday.”
“Hell yeah.” Every year, we head down to Florida for Burnout Beach. It’s a smaller rally, not like Sturgis; more low key. This one is more for making connections with other clubs. There are bands, beer, and broads. Lots of all three. While we do accomplish business normally, there’s a lot of time to let loose.
We normally go a few days early to do the actual business, then it’s time to have fun.
The door swings open, with Rhys and Buzz entering the building.
“How’s it goin’?” Green calls out as they step forward.
As a kid, I was terrified of Rhys. His demeanor does not invite outsiders whatsoever. Now that I’m an adult, I’m just happy he’s on my side. Even having two little girls hasn’t cracked his armor. Although, I did see him watch some princess movie a while back, but I never said anything. Personally, I think he’s gotten harder, especially with his kids. They don’t move or sneeze without him or his woman, Tanner, knowing about it. He takes protective to an entirely different level.
Buzz is a tech genius and has been with the club for well over twenty years. He taught me how to hack, best places for cameras when doing surveillance, and how to dissect a hard drive to get information. He says he’s not getting any younger and needs to pass on his skills. He has two twin boys, Raiden and Axton. They’re only nine, but I’m sure Buzz has already begun teaching them what he knows. That could be disaster, because the man could hack classified shit. Hopefully his kids don’t cause too much chaos.
